The Push: A Standout Thriller | By Ashley Tan Jeyin
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Are you interested in reading thrillers but don’t know which to pick up amidst the numerous novels? Well, look no further. The Push is the hauntingly beautiful, page-turning debut novel by Ashley Audrain, published in January 2021. In a nutshell, it tells the story of the making and breaking of a family, and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for—and everything she feared.
We are first introduced to the main character, Blythe, as she sits in her car watching a happy family at Christmas time. Through the window, she observes their intimate moments in their cozy home as we are left to wonder who this woman is. It isn’t long before we realize that the man is her ex-husband. As the scene goes on, palpable feelings of longing and retribution play out, especially when Blythe imagines their house going up in flames as they sleep. So how did she end up like this, with rage coursing through her veins?
Before Blythe’s life fell apart, she was happily married to Fox, her college sweetheart. Fox was keen on having a child and Blythe, eager to please, eventually agreed. She was determined to be the mother she herself never had. But as soon as Violet is born, she isn’t at all what Blythe expected. Violet recoils at her mother’s touch and refuses to be held by her. Blythe believes something isn’t quite right about Violet as she hardly ever smiled or showed affection. Fox says it’s all in her head. It reaches the point where Blythe starts to question her sanity, and we, as readers, question the reliability of her narrative. Then their son Sam is born, and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life takes a drastic turn, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.
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The Push is written almost entirely in the second-person point of view as Blythe narrates the story towards her ex-husband as a way for him to understand her side of what happened. Alternating between the present and the past (part of which is set in the 1930s), it shows the generational traumas that date back to Blythe’s grandmother, Etta, and how her history has shaped the person Blythe has grown into. The chapters are short and impactful, each lasting about 2-3 pages, which makes the book engaging and easy to read. It’s also paced well as it has the suspense of a good thriller, yet emotionally captivating as it delves into the psyche of a mother’s worst nightmare—being afraid of your own child.
The characters are complex, each with their own flaws and insecurities. Is Blythe an unhinged woman accusing her innocent child of unspeakable acts? Or is she level-headed and Violet is a sociopath in disguise? This is the tightrope that the novel walks, which it accomplishes successfully due to the compelling narrative.
The Push raises many issues about how the idealised versions of motherhood by the media and society can cause mothers to feel immense pressure in order to live up to those expectations. Additionally, it highlights a child’s manipulative behaviour that once again brings up the age old question of nature vs nurture. Other than that, it’s an in-depth look into how the perfect marriage between Fox and Blythe falls apart, eventually ending with them as strangers.
Despite the many novels of unreliable narrators and neglectful mothers such as The Perfect Nanny and The Girl on the Train, this novel stands out as it shows Audrain’s nuanced understanding of how women’s opinions are wrongfully dismissed as ‘hysterical’ simply because they are women, how a thousand little things can break a marriage and a shocking portrayal of a mother’s true feelings towards her child whom she does not feel a connection with.
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I highly recommend reading this book as it is much more than just a fast-paced thriller. It’s one of those rare books that are emotional without being overly sentimental with characters that make you question their every move. The main character—Blythe—plays both the protagonist and antagonist as she draws out both sympathy and hatred from readers. Chilling and multilayered, it’s a tale that grabs you from the very start and lingers with you for a long time after.
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